Document-based user interfaces controlled and managed by a system

ABSTRACT

Document-based user interfaces controlled and managed by a system. A business management application that runs on a platform of the system determines data entry, by a user, in a document creation application. The business management application further interacts with the data using a web services application interface, and invokes a rule that enables behavior of the document creation application being controlled by the system. Further, the business management application assigns regulatory controls to the document creation application until completion of an approval process and subsequently relinquishes the rule on completion of the approval process.

REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No.13/423,280 filed Mar. 19, 2012, entitled “LINKING STRUCTURED DATABASEMANAGEMENT SYSTEMS WITH DOCUMENT CREATION AND WORD PROCESSING TOOLS”,which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the field of business management. Morespecifically, the invention relates to document-based user interfacescontrolled and managed by a system.

BACKGROUND

Increased availability of computer systems and an ability to connect thecomputer systems using various networks, for example intranets and theInternet, has made vast repositories of information and cloud-managedsoftware applications available to users. In many instances, having suchvast amounts of information available to the users enhancesproductivity. Additionally, with increase in number of applications thatusers need to learn and use, there has been a massive proliferation ofuser interfaces. Every new application has a different user interfacethat consumers or users need to learn in order to use the applications.

Such advances in information accessibility and processing have createdother challenges, for example management of the vast amounts ofinformation and requiring learning of many and multiple user interfaces.Many new tools have been developed to deal with an ever-expanding volumeof information that is now available for consumption in an electronicform.

Some approaches to managing the increase in the number of userinterfaces are to aggregate the user interfaces into a single easy touse and familiar user interface. Indeed, it is highly useful toaggregate the user interfaces into an easy to use and familiar userinterface so that the user interfaces are simpler to use and runapplications, for example applications for managing customer or partnerengagement, managing the contract process/lifecycle proposal processesor business processes, and for automatically generating different typesof documents or electronic mails.

However, despite an ability to manage business relationships and othercontent, through an application with access to a system, for example astructured database management system or software application, most ofthe business relationships or the other content are memorialized usingword processing software or other desktop documents and managed bymanual human analysis.

SUMMARY

The above-mentioned needs are met by a computer-implemented method, acomputer program product, and a system for controlling behavior ofdocument-based user interfaces by actions performed from a system.

An example of a computer-implemented method of controlling behavior ofdocument-based user interfaces by actions performed from a systemincludes determining data entry in a document creation application by abusiness management application that runs on a platform of the system.The data is entered by a user. The computer-implemented method alsoincludes interacting with the data using a web services applicationinterface of the business management application. Thecomputer-implemented method further includes invoking a rule in thebusiness management application that enables the behavior of thedocument creation application being controlled by the system. Further,the computer-implemented method includes assigning regulatory controlsto the document creation application until completion of an approvalprocess for the data. Moreover, the computer-implemented method includesrelinquishing the rule on completion of the approval process.

An example of a computer program product stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that when executed by a processor, performs amethod for controlling behavior of document-based user interfaces byactions performed from a system includes determining data entry in adocument creation application by a business management application thatruns on a platform of the system. The data is entered by a user. Thecomputer program product also includes interacting with the data using aweb services application interface of the business managementapplication. The computer program product further includes invoking arule in the business management application that enables the behavior ofthe document creation application being controlled by the system.Further, the computer program product includes assigning regulatorycontrols to the document creation application until completion of anapproval process for the data. Moreover, the computer program productincludes relinquishing the rule on completion of the approval process.

An example of a system includes a non-transitory machine readablemedium. The system also includes instructions carried by themachine-readable medium and operable to cause a programmable processorto perform determining data entry in a document creation application bya business management application that runs on a platform of a system,the data being entered by a user, to perform interacting with the datausing a web services application interface of the business managementapplication, to perform invoking a rule in the business management thatenables behavior of the document creation application being controlledby the system, to perform assigning regulatory controls to the documentcreation application until completion of an approval process for thedata and to perform relinquishing the rule on completion of the approvalprocess.

The features and advantages described in this summary and in thefollowing detailed description are not all-inclusive, and particularly,many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the relevant art in view of the drawings,specification, and claims hereof. Moreover, it should be noted that thelanguage used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selectedto delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter, resort to theclaims being necessary to determine such inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples ofthe invention, the invention is not limited to the examples depicted inthe figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an environment for providing a document creationapplication with access to a business management application, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of controlling behavior of document-baseduser interfaces by actions performed from a system, in accordance withone embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a user interface for a spreadsheetcreation application that interacts with a business managementapplication via a web services application interface, in accordance withone embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a user interface for a spreadsheetcreation application that interacts with a business managementapplication via a web services application interface, in accordance withanother embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram of a machine in the exemplary formof a computer system within which a set of instructions can beprogrammed to cause the machine to execute logic steps of the presentdisclosure, in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The above-mentioned needs are met by a computer-implemented method andsystem for utilizing a document creation application as a user interfacefor communicating with a business management application. The followingdetailed description is intended to provide example implementations toone of ordinary skill in the art, and is not intended to limit theinvention to the explicit disclosure, as one or ordinary skill in theart will understand that variations can be substituted that are withinthe scope of the invention as described.

A Web Services Description Language of a system, for example astructured database management system or a software application, allowscommunication between the document creation application and the businessmanagement application. In some embodiments, the business managementapplication is accessed using an application programming interface (API)call from the document creation application. The document creationapplication is explicitly described, those with ordinary skill in theart having the benefit of the disclosure will appreciate that thedocument creation application can also include, but is not limited to,spreadsheet creation applications; electronic mail applications;applications designed for creating, manipulating, managing, and printingdocuments in a portable document format (PDF) file; rich text format(RTF) file; a web format; an unstructured data file; other types ofdocuments; presentation creation applications; graphics editingprograms; video editing programs; and website design applications.

The system is explicitly described, those with ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the disclosure will appreciate that the system canalso include, but is not limited to, a structured database managementsystem, a software application, an external communication protocol, anda web enterprise application.

In some embodiments, the business management application includes abusiness lifecycle management application that manages businessprocesses by creating a quote for a prospect or customer, engaging andnegotiating an agreement, order management and invoicing and any formsrequired in a business process that need a document to be communicatingand interacting with the business management application. In the presentdisclosure, a contract creation and contract lifecycle managementapplication accesses a cloud-based structured database management systemor software application via an add-in for a word processing application.Although a cloud-based structured database management system or softwareapplication is explicitly described, those with ordinary skill in theart having the benefit of the disclosure will appreciate that theinvention can also be implemented in a behind firewall databasemanagement system with similar effectiveness.

FIG. 1 illustrates an environment 100 for providing a document creationapplication 105 with access to a business management application 110, inaccordance with one embodiment. The business management application 110is hosted on a cloud-based structured database management system orsoftware application 120 or a behind the firewall application. In someembodiments, the cloud-based structured database management system orsoftware application 120 includes a platform-as-a-service offering, forexample as offered by Salesforce®, located at One Market Plaza, Suite300, San Francisco, Calif., 94105, United States.

The business management application 110 is accessed by the documentcreation application 105 through a managed add-in 115 that transfers webservice calls to the business management application 110 via thestructured database management system or software application 120. Inone example, the add-in 115 is a web services API. Accordingly, datafrom the document creation application 105 is accessed by the businessmanagement application 110 of the structured database management systemor software application 120 via the add-in 115.

In some embodiments, the business management application 110 and thestructured database management system or software application 120require log-in credentials. In some cases, the log-in credentials aresimilar for both the business management application 110 and thestructured database management system or software application 120. Inone example, a user enters the log-in credentials of the structureddatabase management system or software application 120 via the documentcreation application 105.

In some embodiments, once the user logs into the document creationapplication 105 using the log-in credentials of the structured databasemanagement system or software application 120, a session identifier isstored within the add-in 115 such that successive calls can be invokedin same session context until the user logs out of the structureddatabase management system or software application 120.

In some embodiments, the add-in 115 is configured to display one or moreof interactive menus, buttons, and text fields, either via windowsnative to the document creation application 105, browser-based windowscommon to the structured database management system or softwareapplication 120, a combination thereof, or via the document creationapplication 105.

In some embodiments, a browser-based form loads a dynamic interactivepage from the business management application 110 in the structureddatabase management system or software application 120. In one example,the browser-based form loads a dynamic interactive Visualforce® pagefrom a contract lifecycle management product in the Salesforce.comcloud. According to this example, the business management application110 helps control improvisation to the Visualforce® page, by a customer,in accordance with organizational needs.

According to some embodiments, the business management application 110includes a contract management application designed for contractadministrators and legal users to help streamline the process ofcreating and maintaining contracts and associated contract and clausetemplates. Since such users are familiar with drafting, revising, andnegotiating contracts using common word processing software, it isdesirable to offer benefits and functionality of the contract managementapplication from within a native word processing environment. Using thecontract management application, contract administrators can managecomplex negotiation cycles, clauses, and contract templates easily.

In some embodiments, the contract management application providessupport for versioning of agreements, and contract administrators cansave internal, external, and final versions of non-standard language inthe word processing application whether accessed locally or via abrowser-based interface for accessing the business managementapplication 110. When saving final versions, the contract managementapplication also helps the user to reconcile any terms that might havechanged during an approval process. The approval process can, forinstance, include electronically sending a notification to a remotesite, for example from a point-of-sale electronic appliance running thecontract management application to a central office. The notificationspecifies that a term, whose nature can be specified by how and where itwas entered into the contract management application, deviates fromspecifications designed for the contract management application.(Examples will be given below, in connection with specific embodiments.)The notification can be referred to a suitable authority which canchoose to accept non-standard terms, special requests, etc., or whichcan map the deviation to the nearest specified value, for example byreducing an excessively high dollar-value quotation to a maximumacceptable value. The authority then sends a reply to the remote unitthat initiated the approval request. Contract and clause templates canalso be managed, including the ability to insert, save as, and replacethem to and from the business management application 110. Additionally,users can compare versions of a contract. In some embodiments, thecontract management application also provides support for creatingconditional text within a contract or clause template. This allows thecontract administrators to create sophisticated conditional clauses thatcan include or exclude certain text or clauses depending on how aconditional expression containing valid agreement related merge fieldsis evaluated.

In some embodiments, an interactive ribbon menu including different datamanagement tools and present on the document creation application 105can be used for interaction by the business management application 110and the structured database management system or software application120. The ribbon menu can, for instance, be part of a user interfacedisplay in a windows-type application. In one embodiment, the ribbonmenu can be displayed as a bar of clickable function icons, or asmultiple, tab-selectable bars of different clickable function icons, forinstance as will be shown and described in connection with FIGS. 3 and4. The data management tools can include an executable data push-pullutility that pushes and pulls data from a structured field in thedocument creation application 105 to the structured database managementsystem or software application 120 and stores the data. The executabledata push-pull utility further includes authorization tools whichrequire the user of the document creation application 105 to provideauthorization before the executable data push-pull utility stores thedata in the structured database management system or softwareapplication 120.

In some embodiments, one or more of the data management tools performactions that change the data in the structured database managementsystem or software application 120. Some embodiments involve securityprotocols and permission verification check before allowing the user tochange the data.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of controlling document-based userinterfaces by structured database systems, in accordance with oneembodiment. The method begins at step 201 when a user opens a documentcreation application, for example the document creation application 105having examples of a word processing application or a spreadsheetcreation application. At step 202, it is determined if an add-in, forexample the add-in 115, is already loaded.

If the add-in is not loaded, step 203 is performed else step 208 isperformed. At step 203, the user accesses a business managementapplication, for example the business management application 110,directly. At step 204, the user logs into the business managementapplication. The user further downloads the add-in at step 205 andinstalls the add-in at step 206. Once the add-in is installed, the userrestarts the document creation application at step 207 to begin usingthe add-in. If the add-in is already loaded into the document creationapplication, the user logs in at step 208. In some embodiments, thedocument creation application asks a user to log-in when the user firstattempts to use an add-in ribbon menu.

In some embodiments, logging in includes being challenged with a username and password. In other embodiments, logging in includes the userentering a username and password and also using a security token iftrying to login outside a trusted network of a company. In someembodiments, login processes at step 204 and step 208 involve enteringlogin information of a structured database management system or softwareapplication, for example the structured database management system orsoftware application 120, the business management application, or both.According to these embodiments, once the user clicks on a login button,the add-in invokes a web service call to challenge the user credentialin the cloud. Upon validation of credentials of the user, the businessmanagement application sends the user a login success message along witha session id. If login is unsuccessful then it sends back a fault codefor respective error.

Once the user is successfully logged in, the user can access datamanagement tools, at step 209, using the add-in via an interface withinthe document creation application, pull structured data from thestructured database management system or software application cloud atstep 210, and work with a document using the document creationapplication at step 211.

As will be explained in more detail below, the data management toolsinclude tools for using existing templates and authoring new templates.The data management tools can be used by the business managementapplication to control and manage the data entered in the documentcreation application. In some embodiments of the invention, a button inthe ribbon is configured to create agreement templates. The user has anoption to either checkout an existing agreement template or author anagreement template from scratch. If the user authors an originaltemplate at step 212, the user can choose to save the authored templatein the structured database management system or software application,the business management application, or both at step 213. In someembodiments, if the user chooses to save the template, the add-indouble-checks the credentials of the user at step 214 to ensure that theuser is authorized to save authored templates. If the user does notchoose to save the template, then step 211 is performed.

Once a user changes content in the document at step 233 and is finishedworking with the document, the user can choose whether to save thechanges at step 215. Multiple types of versions of the document can besaved and the user can also check data changes. Accordingly, at step216, types of changes made are determined. Further, various levels ofuser credentials required for each type of change are determined at step217, step 218, and at step 219. If the changes are saved as an externalversion, A-level credentials need to be entered at step 217. If the datais altered in the cloud, B-level credentials need to be entered at step218. If the changes are saved as an internal version, C-levelcredentials need to be entered at step 219.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate examples of user interfaces for aspreadsheet creation application 300, for example Microsoft Excel, withan interactive ribbon menu 302 for interacting with a businessmanagement application, for example the business management application110, and a structured database management system or softwareapplication, for example the structured database management system orsoftware application 120, via a web services application interface, inaccordance with one embodiment. The spreadsheet creation application300, of the document creation application, has access to the businessmanagement application that is hosted on a cloud-based structureddatabase management system or software application or a behind thefirewall application.

In some embodiments, the business management application is accessed bythe spreadsheet creation application 300 through a managed add-in, forexample the add-in 115, that transfers web service calls to thespreadsheet creation application 300 via the structured databasemanagement system or software application. Accordingly, the useraccesses structured data from the structured database management systemor software application as well as the business management applicationvia the spreadsheet creation application 300.

The interactive ribbon menu 302 includes a variety of data managementtools for adding collaborative functionality and lifecycle managementutility to a word processing document. For example, the data managementtools for the spreadsheet creation application 300 are similar to thoseused for a document creation application.

In one example, the user enters some data, for example a number, in thespreadsheet creation application 300. The structured databaseapplication determines that the data is entered in the spreadsheetcreation application 300 and a rule is invoked. The rule can pertain tofunctionality which is relevant to the spreadsheet creation application300, and/or to parameters set by the user which relate to thespreadsheet creation application 300 or to the data included within adocument created by the spreadsheet creation application 300. Forinstance, suppose the user has typed information into a cell of aspreadsheet document which is defined as containing a numeric value. Therule can check the syntax of the data entered by the user, to confirmthat it meets the criteria for a numeric value, for example containingno alpha characters or punctuation marks. The rule can also be set bythe user or by a designer of the spreadsheet, in order to comply withrequirements for the particular use to which the spreadsheet document isto be applied. For instance, if the data is a number entered into agiven cell of the spreadsheet, the spreadsheet designer can havespecified that approval is required for a value, entered by the userinto the cell, which exceeds a designer-specified standard value. Insuch case, as the user enters a value into that cell of the spreadsheet,the rule can be invoked when value of the number is higher than astandard value, and an approval is required in order to accept theentered value which exceeds the standard value. The structured databaseapplication then assigns regulatory controls to the spreadsheet creationapplication 300. The regulatory controls can, for instance, specify thatedits to other cells can be made but the spreadsheet cannot be finalizedand closed, or that the user cannot perform any further work or edits tothe spreadsheet, until an approval process is completed in thestructured database application. Once the approval process is completed,the regulatory controls can permit that the rule can be relinquished,and then the user can continue to work in the spreadsheet creationapplication 300.

Similarly, a word processing application, for example Microsoft Word,with an interactive ribbon menu interacts with the business managementapplication and the structured database management system or softwareapplication via the web services application interface. The wordprocessing application has access to the business management applicationthat is hosted on the cloud-based structured database management systemor software application or the behind the firewall application.

In some embodiments, behavior of the spreadsheet creation application300 and the word processing application is controlled by performing oneor more of preventing the user to take one or more actions, providingguidance to the user through a pop-up menu, providing other informationthrough the pop-up menu, and limiting user control in the documentcreation application, locking out certain aspects of the documentcreation application, limiting access to certain aspects of the documentcreation application, and determining behavior of the document creationapplication with input.

In some embodiments, the business management application is accessed bythe word processing application through the add-in that transfers webservice calls to the word processing application via the structureddatabase management system or software application. Accordingly, theuser accesses structured data from the structured database managementsystem or software application as well as the business managementapplication via the word processing application.

The interactive ribbon menu includes a variety of data management toolsfor adding collaborative functionality and lifecycle management utilityto a word processing document.

In one example, the user enters some data, for example a word, in theword processing application. The structured database applicationdetermines that the data is entered in the word processing applicationand a rule is invoked. As before, the rule can pertain to functionalitywhich is relevant to the word processing application, and/or toparameters set by the user which relate to the word processingapplication or to the data contained within a document created by theword processing application. For instance, suppose the user has typedtext into a word-processing document. The rule can check the syntax ofthe data entered by the user, to confirm that it meets the criteria, forexample containing no misspelled words. The rule can also be set by theuser or by the designer of the word-processing document, in order tocomply with requirements for the particular use to which theword-processing document is to be applied. For instance, if the data istext entered at a given position within the document, the designer ofthe word-processing document can have specified a circumscribeddictionary of possible text values, for example a merchant's list ofavailable products and services, or a merchant's specified set ofpossible price and service terms. In such case, as the user enters textinto that position of the document, the rule can be invoked whenspelling of the word does not match any of the entries in a dictionary,and an approval is required in order to accept the entered value whichdeviates from the circumscribed dictionary of values. The structureddatabase application then assigns regulatory controls to the wordprocessing application. The regulatory controls can, for instance,specify that edits elsewhere within the word processing document can bemade but the document may not be finalized and closed, or that the usercannot perform any further work or edits to the document until anapproval process is completed in the structured database application.Once the approval process is completed, the regulatory controls canpermit that the rule can be relinquished, and then the user can continueto work in the word processing application.

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram of a machine in the exemplary formof a computer system 500 within which a set of instructions can beprogrammed to cause the machine to execute logic steps of the presentdisclosure, in accordance with one embodiment. In alternativeembodiments, the machine can include a network router, a network switch,a network bridge, personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellulartelephone, a Web appliance or a machine capable of executing a sequenceof instructions that specify actions to be taken by that machine.

The computer system 500 includes a processor 502, a main memory 504 anda static memory 506, which communicate with each other via a bus 508.The computer system 500 can further include a display unit 510, forexample, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT). Thecomputer system 500 also includes an alphanumeric input device 512, forexample a keyboard; a cursor control device 514, for example a mouse; adisk drive unit 516, a signal generation device 518, for example aspeaker, and a network interface device 520.

The disk drive unit 516 includes a machine-readable medium 524 on whichis stored a set of executable instructions 526 embodying any one, orall, of the methodologies described herein below. The machine-readablemedium 524 can, for instance, include a portable medium separatelyacquired and installed by the user, for example a preprogrammed CDbearing program software code, for instance the instructions 526. Theinstructions 526 are also shown to reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 504 and/or within the processor 502.The instructions 526 can further be transmitted or received over anetwork 530 by means of a network interface device 520.

In contrast to the system 500 shown in FIG. 5 and discussed above, adifferent embodiment uses logic circuitry instead of computer-executedinstructions to implement processing entities. Depending upon theparticular requirements of the application in the areas of speed,expense, tooling costs, and the like, this logic can be implemented byconstructing an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) havingthousands of tiny integrated transistors. Such an ASIC can beimplemented with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS),transistor-transistor logic (TTL), very large systems integration(VLSI), or another suitable construction. Other alternatives include adigital signal processing chip (DSP), discrete circuitry (for example,resistors, capacitors, diodes, inductors, and transistors), fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), and programmable logic array (PLA),programmable logic device (PLD).

It is to be understood that embodiments may be used as or to supportsoftware programs or software modules executed upon some form ofprocessing core (for example the CPU of a computer) or otherwiseimplemented or realized upon or within a machine or computer readablemedium. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine, for example acomputer. For example, a machine readable medium includes read-onlymemory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media;optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals, for example, carrierwaves, infrared signals, digital signals, or any other type of mediasuitable for storing or transmitting information.

As will be understood by those familiar with the art, the invention maybe embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit oressential characteristics thereof. Likewise, the particular naming anddivision of the members, features, attributes, and other aspects are notmandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement theinvention or its features may have different names, divisions and/orformats. Accordingly, the disclosure of the invention is intended to beillustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which isset forth in the following Claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method forcontrolling behavior of document-based user interfaces by actionsperformed from a system, the computer-implemented method comprising:entering log-in credentials via a document creation application tolog-in to both a business management application and the documentcreation application; determining data entry in the document creationapplication by the business management application that runs on aplatform of the system, wherein the data is entered by a user; andwherein the business management application is external to the documentcreation application; interacting with the data using a web servicesapplication interface of the business management application; andcontrolling the behavior of the document creation application by thebusiness management application comprising: invoking a rule in thebusiness management application that enables the behavior of thedocument creation application being controlled by the system; assigningregulatory controls to the document creation application untilcompletion of an approval process for the data; and relinquishing therule on completion of the approval process.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system comprises one of astructured database management system, a software application, anexternal communication protocol, and a web enterprise application. 3.The computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedocument creation application comprises one or more of a word processingapplication, a spreadsheet creation application, a presentation creationapplication, a web format, an unstructured data file, a rich text formatfile, a portable document file, a document, and an electronic mailapplication.
 4. The computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 3,wherein the document creation application is configured with an add-incomprising instructions for linking the document creation applicationwith one of the business management application and the system.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the add-incomprises a plugin in the document creation application.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the behaviorof the document creation application is controlled by performing one ormore of preventing the user to take one or more actions, providingguidance to the user through a pop-up menu, providing other informationthrough the pop-up menu, and limiting user control in the document. 7.The computer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein thebusiness management application comprises a business lifecyclemanagement application that manages business processes.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the businessmanagement application comprises a contract creation and contractlifecycle management application.
 9. The computer-implemented method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the document creation application is a userinterface for the business management application.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the documentcreation application comprises data management tools.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the datamanagement tools further comprise: an executable data push-pull utilitythat pushes and pulls data from a structured field in the documentcreation application to the system and stores the data.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method as claimed in claim 11, wherein theexecutable data push-pull utility further comprises authorization toolswhich require the user of the document creation application to provideauthorization before the executable data push-pull utility stores thedata in the system.
 13. A computer program product stored on anon-transitory computer-readable medium that when executed by aprocessor, performs a method for controlling behavior of document-baseduser interfaces by actions performed from a system, thecomputer-implemented method comprising: entering log-in credentials viaa document creation application to log-in to both a business managementapplication and the document creation application; determining dataentry in the document creation application by the business managementapplication that runs on a platform of the system, wherein the data isentered by a user, and wherein the business management application isexternal to the document creation application; interacting with the datausing a web services application interface of the business managementapplication; and controlling the behavior of the document creationapplication by the business management application comprising: invokinga rule in the business management application that enables the behaviorof the document creation application being controlled by the system;assigning regulatory controls to the document creation application untilcompletion of an approval process for the data; and relinquishing therule on completion of the approval process.
 14. The computer programproduct as claimed in claim 13, wherein the system comprises one of astructured database management system, a software application, anexternal communication protocol, and a web enterprise application. 15.The computer program product as claimed in claim 13, wherein thedocument creation application comprises one or more of a word processingapplication, a spreadsheet creation application, a presentation creationapplication, a web format, an unstructured data file, a rich text formatfile, a portable document file, a document, and an electronic mailapplication.
 16. The computer program product as claimed in claim 15,wherein the document creation application is configured with an add-incomprising instructions for linking the document creation applicationwith one of the business management application and the system.
 17. Thecomputer program product as claimed in claim 16, wherein the add-incomprises a plugin in the document creation application.
 18. Thecomputer program product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the behavior ofthe document creation application is controlled by performing one ormore of preventing the user to take one or more actions, providingguidance to the user through a pop-up menu, providing other informationthrough the pop-up menu, and limiting user control in the document. 19.The computer program product as claimed in claim 13, wherein thebusiness management application comprises a business lifecyclemanagement application that manages business processes.
 20. The computerprogram product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the business managementapplication comprises a contract creation and contract lifecyclemanagement application.
 21. The computer program product as claimed inclaim 13, wherein the document creation application is a user interfacefor the business management application.
 22. The computer programproduct as claimed in claim 13, wherein the document creationapplication comprises data management tools.
 23. The computer programproduct as claimed in claim 22, wherein the data management toolsfurther comprise: an executable data push-pull utility that pushes andpulls data from a structured field in the document creation applicationto the system and stores the data.
 24. The computer program product asclaimed in claim 23, wherein the executable data push-pull utilityfurther comprises authorization tools which require the user of thedocument creation application to provide authorization before theexecutable data push-pull utility stores the data in the system.
 25. Asystem comprising: a non-transitory machine readable medium; andinstructions carried by the machine-readable medium and operable tocause a programmable processor to perform: entering log-in credentialsvia a document creation application to log-in to both a businessmanagement application and the document creation application;determining data entry in the document creation application by thebusiness management application that runs on a platform of a system,wherein the data is entered by a user; and wherein the businessmanagement application is external to the document creation application;interacting with the data using a web services application interface ofthe business management application; and controlling the behavior of thedocument creation application by the business management applicationcomprising: invoking a rule in the business management application thatenables behavior of the document creation application being controlledby the system; assigning regulatory controls to the document creationapplication until completion of an approval process for the data; andrelinquishing the rule on completion of the approval process.
 26. Thesystem as claimed in claim 25, wherein the system comprises one of astructured database management system, a software application, anexternal communication protocol, and a web enterprise application. 27.The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the document creationapplication comprises one or more of a word processing application, aspreadsheet creation application, a presentation creation application, aweb format, an unstructured data file, a rich text format file, aportable document file, a document, and an electronic mail application.28. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the behavior of thedocument creation application is controlled by performing one or more ofpreventing the user to take one or more actions, providing guidance tothe user through a pop-up menu, providing other information through thepop-up menu, and limiting user control in the document.
 29. The systemas claimed in claim 25, wherein the document creation applicationcomprises data management tools.
 30. The system as claimed in claim 29,wherein the data management tools further comprise: an executable datapush-pull utility that pushes and pulls data from a structured field inthe document creation application to the system and stores the data,wherein the executable data push-pull utility further comprisesauthorization tools which require a user of the document creationapplication to provide authorization before the executable datapush-pull utility stores the data in the system.